Machine for operating on stitchdown shoes



Oct. 26, 1937. F. RICKS ET AL MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON STITCHDOWN SHOES Filed Nov. 4, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [v VENTU E.

F. RlcKs ErAL MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON STITCH-DOWN SHOES 1936 3 Sheefos-Sheet 2 Fi ledNov. 4,

Oct. 26, 1937. 2,096,761

MACHINE FOR OPERATING 0N STITCH-DOWN SHOES I F. RICKS r AL 3 Sheets-Sheet" 3 Filed Nov. 4, 1936 Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT ornce Fred Ricks'and Cyril Harry James, Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationNovember 4, 1936, Serial No. 109,133 In Great Britain November 21," 1935 19 Claims.

.This invention relates to machines for operating upon the end portions of shoes and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for Working the foreparts of stitchdown shoe uppers into lastthereof against the projecting margins ofv soles.

Such machines are adapted for shaping the toe portions of the uppers ofstitchdown shoes to their lasts, forming outwardly turned marginal flanges thereon and at the same operation securing the flanges to the sole margin by the aid of adhesive, said machines being equipped each with a pair of wipers which are arranged 'to embrace the toe portion of the shoe at a level above the shoe bottom and with a sole support, the wipers and the sole'support being arranged' fo'r relative movement heightwise of the shoe to'eiiect' a wiping'action toward the sole to shape the toe portion'of the upper to the last and'to press the'outtu'rned T marginal portion of the upper against the mar- "ginal portion of the sole which extends outwardly beyond the sides of the last. 'At the conclusion of the relative heightwise movement of the wipers and shoe support the wipers are given a slight advancing and closing movement to form a well defined crease on the upper between the marginal portion of the upper overlying the outwardly extending portion of the sole and the portion of the upper which is conformed to the side of the last.

Objects of this invention'are to provide improved mechanism for tensioning the'upper at the end and sides of the toe to obtain adequate and complete tensioning thereof over the last 'prior to the action of the wipers and to effect tensioning of the upper in directions and to an extent which will be satisfactory'under all con- "ditions.

' With these objects in view, the invention com- 40 prises, as herein illustrated, the combination of end-embracing wipers movable hei-ghtwi'se' of the shoe and toe and side grippers mounted upon 'a sole support and arranged tomove away from a last on the support in divergent paths'so that the upper extending between thegrippers 'will be held in a tensioned condition to facilitate the laying of those portions free from wrinklesupon the outwardly extending marginal portion of the sole by later action of the wipers. Preferably and as illustrated, each gripper is movable about a pivot located under the sole support, and the gripper jaws are initially locatedabove and over the sole support, their movement being "outwardly with respect to the last with a component'of heightwise movement to cause the jaws. at the ed position and for pressing the outturned flanges (Cl. 12--7) conclusion of the pulling movement to "be locat 'ed below the upper surface of the solersupport so that they will not interfere with the-action 'of the wipers. "As -illustrated,- -the pivots of the side. grippersare in'non-parallel relation to each: other and. converge toward'a point in'front of the shoe so that their actionin imparting to the upper a tension directed toeward'of the'shoe has a marked tendency to draw the opposite sides of the upper extending along the shank of the shoe o closely against the last, thusassisting in the production of a well shaped shoe. In the'illustrated construction, the grippers are closed and moved in the described manner to tension the upper independently of the wipers by depression of a. 15

treadle and means is provided for holding them in upper-tensioningposition until after the operation of the wipers, which means is automatically released by the return of the wipers to their normal position. 20

The illustrated machine is equipped with mechanism desirable under some conditions to cause the toe gripper to close and apply light tension-to the upper prior to the action of the side grippers and to cause the toe gripper further to pull the 25 upper and then to release it during the action of the wipers. This mechanism is preferably arranged, as illustrated; so that it canbe used or not at the will of the operator.

When, in the operation of the illustrated ma-l. chine, the grippers are operated to pull themar gin of the shoe upper heightwise over the last and outwardly away from the sidesof the lastso far that when they have finished their upperpulling movements they, hold the extreme edgeof the margin close against the edge of the projecting margin of the sole substantially on the same level as that face of the sole against which the margin of the upper is to be pressed bythe wipers, the margin of the upper is in such condition that when the wipers are operated height- 7 wise of the shoe they can readily press the tening on certain kinds of shoes, for instance shoes 50 having uppers made of relatively soft'material such as glac leather or tinsel fabric, damage 'to the upper by the wipingaction of the wipers is avoided.

These and other features of the invention will 55 Under these condi- 45 appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, V Fig, 1 is a side view of the upper portion of a machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view' of the wipers and work support taken in front of the side grippers;

Fig. 3 is a plan viewillustrating the wipers and the gripper mechanismwith which the machine is provided;

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating power-operated means for actuating the wipers and the rear abutment; and

Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the side grippers in its initial position.

.As in prior machines for this work, the machine is preferably duplex, two separate machines being arranged side by side, one adapted for operating on the left shoe ofa pair and the other for operating on the right. 'Since, except for the fact that wipers of the respective machines will differ in shape to fit right and left shoes respectively, the machines may be identical, the following description maybe assumed to apply to each one. Each machine comprises an upright column or post [6 which is inclined toward the operator at some 30 degrees to the vertical. On its upper end the post carries a readily detachable solesupporting plate l2 adapted to receive the forepart of the sole of a stitchdown shoe presented right side up to'the machine. The plate i2 is of a'shape roughly similar to that of the forepart of a sole-and is arranged perpendicular to the direction of the post Ill so that it slopes upwardly away from the operator so that a shoe presented thereon will be in a convenient position for the operator to look down upon it and watch the progress of the operation on the shoe. The plate I2 is secured to the post it! by a screw l4 (Fig. 3)" passing through a slot in the plate l2 to permit adjustment of the plate lengthwise of the shoe and relatively to wipers [6 with which the machine is equipped. The inner marginal portions of the wipers overlie the marginal portion of the plate l2 around the toe portion of the shoe, the wipers normally occupying a raised position, as indicated in Fig. 2, spaced well above the plate I2. The toe end of the plate I2 has an upstanding rib l8 (Fig. 1) against which the toe end of a sole A on the bottom of a last B within the upper C of a shoe may be caused to abut and position the shoe longitudinally in the machine relatively to the wipers.

At the rear of the machine there is provided a slideway 26 upon which is mounted a rising and falling wiper-carrying bracket 22, this slideway extending substantially perpendicular to the plane in which the sole-supporting plate l2 lies. The bracket 22 has an upper portion 24 parallel to the plate l2 which forms a guideway for a wiper-carrying slide 26. The slide 26 at its forward end has formed in it arcuate guideways 23 (Fig. 2) for a pair of wiper-carrying plates 39 lying parallel to and above the sole-supporting plate l2, the inner edges of the wipers I6 carried thereby being shaped similar to the toe portion of the shoe to be operated on and the inner edges of the wipers I6 being long enough to extend somewhat beyond those points at the opposite sides of the shoe where the ends of the tip seam are usually located. The 'two wipers 7 abut against each other at that point which lies opposite the toe end of the shoe. and the. arcuate guideways 28 for the wiper-carrying plates 30 are concentric about the meeting point of the wiper I6. The outer edges of the wiper-carrying plates 30 are also concentric about said meeting point and have rack teeth 32 formed on their outer edges. A pinion 34 is provided to mesh with the rack teeth on each wiper-carrying plate 28, and the two pinions are freely rotatable about pins 36 secured to the wiper-carrying slide 26. Fast on the upper face of each of the pinions 34 is a second pinion 38 which engages a rack bar 40 arranged for adjustment longitudinally parallel to the, direction of movement of the wipercarrying slide 26. The two rack bars 40, 40 are parallel and lie in directions lengthwise of the shoe in the machine and their rear ends are connected by a bridge piece 42 extending transversely across and over the slide 26 and arranged to slide forwardly and rearwardly on ways 43 formed on a lug 44 projecting upwardly from the midportion of the bracket 22 througha slot 46 in the slide 26. Through the lug 44 a rod 48'is threaded, the rod extending parallel to the rack bars 4!! and having collars 50, 50 abutting against the opposite sides of an ear 52 extending upwardly from the bridge piece 42. By rotating a hand wheel 54 on the rod 48 the rack bars 40 may be moved lengthwise of the shoe relatively to the wiper-carrying slide 26 to rotate the. pinions 34, 38 and thus cause the wipers to move angularly' about their meeting point so that the forward portions of their wiping edges may be spaced apart a distance corresponding to the width of the portion of the shoe they are to operate upon.

it is desirable that the wipers,rwhile embracing the toe portion of the shoe with the desired closeness, be moved heightwise of the shoe from a level above that of the upper face of the sole downwardly toward the sole to press the margin of the upper held under tension and outspread by grippers, in a. manner to be hereinafter described, against the sole and should, when they actually press the margin of the upperagainst the sole, be caused to advance slightly toward the heel end of the shoe and to" swing toward each other as they do so in order to force the upper inwardly close against the last and to form a well defined crease on the upper between the outwardly extending margin of the upper and the portion of the upper extending over the last.

To cause the wipers to move in this manner, a bell crank lever is pivoted on a transverse horizontal pivot 62 to the rising and falling bracket 22, and a forwardly extending arm of the lever 60 has secured to it the upper end of a link 64 which at its lower end is connected to means, later to be described, for operating it by power. An upwardly extending arm of the bell crank 60 is provided with a segment 66 having teeth 68 formed thereon which mesh with teeth formed on the lower side of the wiper-carrying slide 26, so that downward movement of the link 64 will rotate the segment 66 and cause the wiper-carrying slide 26 to be moved toward the shoe. A relatively strong spring 10 is located between the rear end of the slot 46 in the wipercarrying slide 26 and the lug 44 on the bracket 22 and tends not only to maintain the wipercarrying slide 26 in a definite rearward position but thus holds the wipers in a definite separated and retracted position as determined by adjustment of the hand wheel 54 such that the wipers.

shown, thereby exhausting the air fromthe crank lever 69, the eifect of downward movement of the link 64 will be to cause the bracket '22 to descend until the wipers, in moving downwardly around the toe portion of the .shoe uppers, press'the outwardly extending margin of the upper which at'that time will be held under tension by grippers in the manner hereinafter described, firmly against the outwardly extending margin of the sole. When the resistance *ofieredby the sole supported on the plate l2 to further downward movement of the wipers exceeds the resistance offered by the spring 18 to advancing movement of the wiper slide 26,'the spring yields and the wiper slide advances a short distance toward the heel end of the shoe, thus causing the wipers l6 to advance and also to close as they do so owing to the 'fact'that the ""pinions '36, 36 carried by the wiper slide 26; move relatively to'the racks 40 which are held from 7 forward movement. As the wipers thus advance and close, their inner edges are forced into the angle between the side of the last and the margin of the sole which extends outwardly beyond the last and thus crowd the upper inwardly against the last and produce a well defined crease on the upper between its outwardly extendingmargin and the portion thereof which extends over the last.

For operating the link 64 its lower end (Fig. 4)

7 may be connected to a cross-head '12 mounted on the lower end of a piston rod E4 which passes through a stufiing box 16 in the head of a cylinder. l8 and is connected to a piston in'the cylinder. Preferably there is another link '64 on the opposite side of the cylinder connected to the same head 12 and to the bell crank levertfi.

. Compressed air supplied by a pipe 8!] is conducted by a pipe 82 to the lower end of the cylinder 18 and by a pipe 84 to its upper end, the supply of air to the cylinder being controlled by a valve '86 operated through a link 88 by a treadle lever '99 pivoted. at 92 to the frame and having a treadle 94 pivoted thereto at 95 and located at the front of the machine. A lug 91 on the treadle 94 engages a part of the treadle lever 98 to prevent clockwise movement of the treadle 94. In the position shown the valve 85 is turned .tosupply air to the lower end of the cylinder through the pipe 82 and when the treadle. 94 is depressed against a spring 96 the valve is turned in a position to supply air through the pipe 84 to the upper end of the cylinder, causing the piston and the links 64 to move downwardly and operate the wipers in. the manner described. I When the treadle 94 is fully depressed a latch 98 pivoted at 99 to the lever 98 engages under a ledge I on the frame and holds the treadle in depressed position and the wipers in pressing relation to the upper. The shoe is preferably left in the machine until another shoe has been similarly treated in a similar manner in another 'machine and is then released by depressing an arm I02 formed on the treadle 94 and held in 'raised' position by a spring 184 connected between a downward projection on the latch 98 and a similar downward projection on'the treadle 94.

' The arm 1B2 engages a lug I06 on the latch 98 and swings it forwardly out fromunder the ledge I00, thus releasing the treadle, the-spring 96 then acting to restore the valve to the position the machine frame.

plate l2.

upper end of the cylinder and introducing air to the lower end, whereupon .the links 64 are moved upwardly to restore the wiper; mechaon a member Hi3 which is longitudinally adjustable with respect to a lever IIZ pivoted at i M to The rear end of the lever H2 carries a roll H which normally engagesa low portion of a cam H3 pivoted at 120 on the "machine frame.- Pivoted'a't !22 to the cam 1 20 is a link.i24 having at its lower end a slot 126 through which passes a pin 12%? on an'arm Hi3 rigidly secured to one of the links 6 2 I Between the pin 528 on the arm lfiil and a pin 42 on the cam H8 is a tension spring 134 and during the downward movement of the link 64 the spring 134 will be tensioned and the cam I I8 rotated in a counterclockwise direction, forei fing the high part 536 of the cam againstthe roll 4 it to tip the lever H2 in a counterclockwise direction to bring the abutment W8 into engage ment with the rear end of the shoe and hold it positively against the lug l8 on the plate 5 2 while the advancing and closing movements of the wipers take place. i The novel gripper mechanism with which the illustrated machine is equipped, asshown in Figs.

1, 2, 3 and 5, comprises a toe gripper loc'ateda't the toe end of the supporting plate '52 so that it will engage the margin of that portion of the upper which extends across the toe end of the last and two side grippers located on the opposite sides of the sole-supporting plate l2 approximately in the regions of the ends of the tip seam. The jaws of the toe gripper are relatively wide (for example 1% inches in width) in order that they may grip a substantial portion of upper extending across the toe end of the last; The side grippers maybe narrower (for example aboutan inch in width). Conveniently the inner edges of the jaws of the toe gripper may, as seen in plan (Fig. 3), be curved to approximate the curvature of the toe end of the last so that the oppositei side portions of the gripper may engage the margin of the upper as close to the last as does 'the central portion of the gripper.

The toe gripper (Fig. 1) comprises a lower jaw member M9 pivoted at I42 to a member I44 fixed to the top of the post H! and supporting the and a rearward extension thereof is connected by a link E52 to a short lever I 54 pivoted between its ends at I56 to the member ME}. The front end of the lever I54 is pivoted at I58 to a rod E50" which passes downwardly. through an ear I62 pivoted to a slide lei-mounted for movement in the frame in a direction perpendicular to the tween the slide lfi and the post to return the On the rod I66 between the ear i5 slide to its upper position. It will be seen that downward movement of the slide I64 will act through the spring I68 to rock the lever I54, push upward on the link I 52 and cause the upper jaw I48 ofthe toe gripper to move toward the lower jaw and grip the upper. To a downwardly extending ear on the jaw member I40 is pivoted'at I10 the bifurcated head of a rod 112 which extends forwardly through an ear I14 projecting downwardly from the plate I44. Between the head of the rod I12 and the ear I14 is a compression spring I16 which is lighter than the spring I68 on the rod I60. The spring I16 maintains the jaw I46 in its initial position which is determined by adjustment cfa nut I18 on the 7 rod I12 and insures that the jaw. I48 will first move togrip the upper against the jaw I46 and then permit the toe gripper as a whole to turn about the pivot I42 to swing the gripper jaws downwardly'and'rearwardly in response to the downward movement of the slide I64.

The side grippers are alike and each comprises a lower jaw member I80 and an upper jaw member I82 (Fig. 5). Each lower jaw member has an upward extension forming the lower jaw I84 of the gripper, said extension being inwardly inclined to overlie slightly the plate I2 and'to present the jaw. I84 parallel to and substantially inthe plane of the. upper surface of the sole A pending rod located on the supporting plate- I2. Thejaw member I is pivoted at I86 to the member I44 at a point substantially under the edge of the bottom of the last B located with its sole A on the plate ii. The upper jaw I82 is pivoted at I88 to the jaw member I80, and connected to it between its pivot and its jaw portion I88 is a de- I90 the lower end of which is pivoted at I92 (Fig. 1) to the slide i64 so that downward movement of the slide will close the upper jaw I89 against the lower jaw I84 to seize the upper C. The jaw member I80 is supported in its initial position by a spring I94 threaded on a rod I96 which, at its upper end, is pivoted at I98 to the jaw member I80 and at its lower end passes freely through an arm 200 on the post I0. Set nuts 202 on the lower end of the rod I96 limit upward movement of the jaw member I80 and adjustably' determine its initial position. The spring I84 insures that the jaws will close upon the upper C before they swing about the pivot I86 to impart an outward and downward pull to the upper.

It will be seen that the three grippers are so constructed and arranged that by downward movement of the slide I64 the upper jaws will be moved relatively to the lower jaws to grip the shoe upper and that thereafter the gripping jaws will hold the upper taut against the. upper face of the last'by tensions exerted on it in outward and downward directions. The toe gripper, by its downward movement with a component away from the shoe, imparts a lengthwise tension to the shoe upper in addition to a heightwise tension and the side grippers are so arranged that as they move outwardly they have an appreciable component of movement lengthwise of the shoe toward the toe end, and for this purpose the pivots I86 of the side grippers, as shown in Fig. 3, are inclined at an angle of about 15 degrees to the longitudinal median line of the sole A so that the axes of the pivots when extended converge and meet at a point located beyond the toe end of the sole. Thus, as the toe and opposite side grippers swing outwardly and downwardly in the manner above described, the portion of the upper'lying across the toe portion of the last is subjected to a tension which extends both lengthwise I of the shoe and downwardly while those'oppositeside last, draw the opposite sides of the shank portion of the shoe upper closely against the sides of the last and stretchthe toe portion of the shoe upper and hold it in such an outspread'condition-that the portions of the upper extending between adjacent grippers will be subjected to sufficient stretching action to eliminate from them any substantial wrinkles therein. Furthermore, when the grippers have completed their movements the portion of the upper which they are gripping will be held in stretched condition with its outer edge slightly below the level of the upper face of the sole A on the supporting plate I2 so that'the margin of the upper is presented in a very convenient position to be pressed down by the wipers..I6

against the outwardly extending margin of thei sole. Since the grippers will act, on depression of the slide I64, to pull the toe portion of the upper tightly against the upper faceof the last before the wipers act on the upper, it is not so important to cause the inner edges of the wipers to press-the: upper firmly against the sides of the last asthey descend toward the sole and thus possibility of damaging delicate shoe uppers by the wiping action of the wipers may be avoided. By adjusting the nuts I18, 202, 202 the initial heightwise posi-' tion of any of the three grippers may be varied independently of the others.

Under some conditions it may be desirable to cause the toe gripper to apply relatively light tension to the toe end of the upper tofacilitate the action of the side grippers in pulling the upper firmly down before the side grippers. act on ;it and also to causethe grip exerted by the toe gripper on the upper to be relieved when the wipers advance and close overthe outwardly extending margin of the sole to facilitate forcing the upper at the toe endby the wipers into the angle formed by the outwardly extending margin of the sole and the last. For this purpose there is secured to the rod I60 which operates the toe gripper above the ear I62 a collar 204 which, when a shoe is initially presented to the machine, rests upon a stop lever 206 pivoted at 208 (Fig. 3) on the gripper-operating slide I64. The lever 206 may be rocked to remove it from beneath the collar 264 by the knee of the operator prior. to depression of the trea-dle I69 by which the'grippers are operated. When the operator has placed the margin of the upper between the jaws of the three grippers he may swing the lever 206 to one side spring I68 causes the gripper to be pulled downwardly and outwardly somewhat to apply a light tension to the upper. This takes place independently of the operation of the side grippers by the treadle I69 and, when the side grippers have been caused to grip and pull the-upperby depression of the gripper-operating treadle I69 inthe manner previously described and the mapressing the treadle 94, an adjustable abutment 2! on the wiper-carryingslide 29 engages the rear end portion of the upper jaw I48 of the toe gripper and thus forces the gripper positively downwardly slightly toimpart a little further tension to the toe end of the upper, there being at that time a gap between the under face of the collar 264 and the upper face of the ear I 62 to allow the necessary small amount of downward movement of the rod I69. The abutment 240 has on its under face a cam surface-212 which acts as the wiper carrier 26 is moved. toward the shoe 'to depress the rear end portion of the upper jaw I48 further, and the spring I63 being then in expanded condition and the spring H6 in com-- pressed condition, the gripper is supported against further bodily downward movement while the upper jaw I48 is free to rock about its pivot I59 203 in a direction to release its grip'on the upper. As

30, plate 2| 6 (Fig. 1) having upwardly directed the rod I69 is moved upwardly during the releasing movement of the jaw I48 the stop lever 28% will be urged by a spring 2I4 into position beneath the collar 294 so that it is again in position x to be actuated to allow gripping of the upper by the toe gripper early in the next succeeding cycle.

In order to relieve the operator of the necessity of maintaining the treadle I69 depressed during the operation of the wipers, a ratchet teeth on 'its rear edge is secured to the'slide I64 and a pawl H8 is pivoted at 225 to the post I and cooperates with'the plate 2I6 to hold the slide from upward movement. In order to move the pawl 2 I8 out of engagement with the plate 2I6 at the conclusion of the machines operation, upward movement of the wiper-actuating link 64 is utilized torele'ase the pawl 2E8.

Secured to thelink 64 is an arm 222 on the front end of which is pivoted a releasing ,fing'er 224 which can turn upwardly on its; pivot 226 but not downwardly beyond a horizontal position. Formed on a rearwardly projecting portion 228 of the pawl 2! is a wide. notch 236.

to descend the finger 224 engages and is lifted by engagement with the end'228 of the pawl and its end falls by gravity into the notch 239. As th link 64 moves upwardly to allow the wipers to rise at the end of their operation, the end of the finger 224 abuts against the upper end of the notch 230 and moves the pawl 2I8' in a direction to disengage it .from' the plate 2J6 so that the grippers may open and rise to their original positions.

In order to prevent the grippers from rising far enough to strike against the lower side of a link 234 is pivoted at its rear end to' the bracket 22 and at its forward end to a depending link 236 the upper end of which is pivoted at I65 on the slide I64. 7 When the slide I64 moves upwardly rapidly under theinfiuence of the spring III, the upper edge of the link 234 engages the stop screw 232 and arrests movement of the grippers before they hit the wipers,

the wipers and grippers thereafter moving upwardly together.

In case it should be desired to tack or staple the margin of the upper to the sole, while the wipers remain in operative position instead of securing it by adhesive, the wipers may conveniently have one or more notches cut in their inner edges into which a'hand stapling or tacksion on the upper.

As the link 64 moves downwardly togcause the wipers ing device may be introduced to enable the upper to be fastened to the sole without it being necessary to retract the wipers appreciably from A and an upper C properly assembled upon a last'B and, if it is desired that the marginal flange on theupper be secured in place on the sole by cement instead of by tacking or stapling, the operator then either applies cement to the margins of the sole and/or; upper or renders tacky cement which has previously been applied to one or both of these parts. He then placesthe shoe on the toe-supporting plate I2 of the machine with the toe end of the shoe pointing away from him and abutting against the'upstanding rib I8 on the supporting plate. While holding-the shoe in this position'he plaoes the margin of the upper between the jaws'I34, I89 of the side grippers and the jaws I46, I48 of" the toe gripper which at this time will occupy their raised initial positions with their jaws open. He then depresses the treadle I69 connected to the gripper-operating slide I64 and thus pulls the upper jaws of the grippers downwardly to grip the marginof the upper against commence toswing outwardly away from thelast and downwardly, the toe'gripper about the pivot I42 and the side grippers about the pivots I 86, I86. The upper is thus tensioned'lengthwise of the shoe bythe toe gripper and pulled away from the last widthwise thereof and to-" Ward the toe end of the last by the sidegrippers. The three grippers also exert a heightwise ten- As-a result the toe portion of the upper is pulled tightly against the upper face of the last, the margin of theupper extending around its toe is held by the grippers in a tensioned ,outspread'condition close to the edge of the outwardly extending margin of the sole, and the opposite sides of the upper along the shank portion are pulled closely against the last. While the pawl 2I3 maintains the grippers in their lowered and outspread positions, the operator depresses the trea'die 94 to efiect power operation of the wipers Iiiand the heelend-engaging abutment I623. The bracket 22 now moves downwardly along its guideway 20 and the wipers, having been angularly'adjusted to embrace. the toe end of the last by operation of thehand wheel 54 with the desired closeness,

will wipe the toe portion of the upper dowm wardly toward the sole while pressing it more or less firmly against the side faces of the'last until the wipers engage the outspread margin" of the upper held taut by the grippers and press it firmly against the outwardly extending margin of the sole. During this movement the wipers drag the upper, under considerable ten-.

sion, from between the jaws of the three grippers which remain in their outward and down-, ward positions with their jaws closed throughout the operation of the wipers. During this operation the heel-endi-engaging. fork or abutment I08 swings toward the heel, end of the shoe to support it against heelwardmovement. When" the wipers have pressed the outspread margin of the upper firmly against the sole, 'the 'spring 70 yields and allows the wiper-carrying slide 26 to advance toward the shoe, the wipers being thereby carried over the outwardly projecting margin of the upper while pressing it against the sole in a direction toward the heel end of the shoe and angularly toward each other. These advancing and closing movements of the wipers act to drag the upper completely from between the gripper jaws and to force the upper into the angle between the last and the outwardly projecting marginal portion of the sole, thus'fitting the upper to the last and forming therein a well defined crease. The machine comes to rest with the wipers in their advanced and closed positions and the operator may then, if desired,

secure the upper to the sole by metallic fastenings by inserting a stapling o-r tacking tool into the notches in the wipers and driving fastenings to secure the outwardly extending flange of the upper to the outwardly extending margin of the sole. When it is desired to release the shoe, the operator releases the treadle 94 and the bracket 22 moves upwardly, causing the wipers to swing apart and retreat to their original positions, the finger 224 meantime having released the pawl M8 to allow the grippers to rise and open to their initial positions.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent'of theUnited States is:

-1. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted for movement in outwardly and downwardly directed paths with respect to the last, means for, closing the gripbers upon the upper and moving them in said paths to tension the upper, end-embracing wip ers, and means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work theupper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole. Y

2. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in

combination, a support to receive the sole of a,

stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole Which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted for movement in outwardly and downwardly directed paths with respect to the last, means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving them in said paths 'to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers, and means independent of the gripper-operating means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

' '3. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support'to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bot- .tom of the last, grippers mounted upon the supa last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bot-' tom of the last, a toe gripper mounted upon a pivot beneath the support for downward and outward movement withrespect to the 1ast,'a spring for holding the gripper with its jaws above the, 7

support, means acting through a stronger spring for closing the gripper upon the upper and moving it to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers, and means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

5. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted'to support the marginal por- 5 tion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, a toe gripper mounted upon a pivot beneath the support for downward and cutward movement with respect to the last, a spring for holding the gripper with its jaws'above the support, means acting through a stronger spring for closing the gripper upon the upper and moving it to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers, and means independent of the gripper-operating means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to Work the upper into' the angle be tween the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

6. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole'of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon alast and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted upon pivots located under the support for swinging movement in paths outwardly and downwardly directed with respect to the last, means for closing the grippers'upon the upper and moving them in said paths to tension the upper end-embracing wipers, and means for moving the, wipers heightwise or the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole. 7

'7. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted upon the support for movement in paths outwardly and downwardly directed with respect to the last, manu ally operated means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving them in said paths to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers, and poweroperated means for moving the wipers heightwise; of the last to work the upper into the angle be- I tween the side of the last and the projecting mar '66 gin of the sole. 7

, 8. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in

combination, a support to receive the sole of a' stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon,

a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted beneath the support for movement in paths outwardly and downwardly directed with respect to the last, manually operated means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving'them in said paths to tension the upper, means for holding the grippers in upper-tensioning position, endembracing wipers,and power-operated means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

9. A stitchdown lasting machine having in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted for outward and down-' ward movement with respect to the last, means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving them to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers arranged for advancing and closing movement with respect to the shoe, and poweroperated means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole, said power means acting to advance and close the wipers at the conclusion of their heightwise movement.

10. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted for outward and downward movement with respect to the last, means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving them to tension the upper, end-embracing wipers arranged for advancing and closing movement with respect to the shoe, a spring for opposing said advancing and closing movement, and power-operated means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole, said poweroperated means acting, when further heightwise movement of the wipers is'opposed by the proj ecting margin of the sole, to cause advancing and closing movement of the wipers against said spring.

11. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole projecting beyond the bottom of the last, a toe gripper and side grippers arranged to engage respectively the toe portion and the side portions of the forepart of the upper of a shoe on said support, means for causing the toe gripper to close and pull the upper prior to closing of the side grippers, means for moving the side grippers heightvvise of and outwardly with respect to the shoe last, end-embracing wipers arranged for movement heightwise of the last, and means for moving the wipers to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

12. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom' wise with respect to the last, end-embracing Wipers, and means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

13. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in

combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, a toe gripper mounted upon a pivot beneath the support for downwardand outward movement with respect to the last,'a spring V creasing the tension of. said stronger spring when the gripper is in initial position, said means being releasable at the will of the operator to cause closing and pulling movement of the gripper.

14. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdownshoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, toe and side grippers mounted upon pivots located beneath the support and having their lower jaws initially overhanging the soleengaging surface of the support, the pivots of the side grippers converging toeward of the shoe, means for moving the upper jaws of. the grippers to seize the upper and for swinging the grippers on their pivots to tension the upper outwardly and heightwise with respect to the last, the side grippers because of their converging pivots tending to tension the upper longitudinally, end-embracing wipers, and means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole.

15. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, two-jaw toe and side grippers mounted upon pivots located beneath the support and having their lower jaws initially above the sole-engaging surface of the support, means for moving the upper jaws of the grippers to seize the upper and for swinging the grippers on their pivots to tension the upper outwardly and heightwise with respect to the last, end-embracing wipers arranged for advancing and closing movement, and means of the last and the projecting margin of the sole and for then advancing and closing them to crease 'sole which projects beyond the bottom of thelast,

a toe gripper and side grippers arranged to engage the toe end and side portions of the forepart of the upper of the shoe on said support, manually operated means for moving the grippers heightwise of and outwardly with respect to the shoe last, means for holding the grippers with the upper under tension, end-embracing wipers arranged for movement heightwise'of the last, poweroperated means for moving the wipers to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole, and

-means operated upon return movement of the wipers to release the gripper-holding means.

1'7. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, grippers mounted upon the support for outward and downward movement with respect to the last, means for closing the grippers upon the upper and moving them to tension the upper, a pawl for holding the grippers with the upper under tension, end-embracing wipers mounted for movement perpendicular to said support, poweroperated means for moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole, and means operating upon return movement of the wipers for releasing said pawl.

18. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, a toe gripper and side grippers arranged to engage the toe and side portions ofvthe forepart of the upper of a shoe on said support, means for operating the grippers heightwise and outwardly with respect to the shoe, end-embracing wipers arranged for advancing and closing movements and for movement heightwise of the last, means for first moving the wipers heightwise of the last to work the upper into the angle between the side of the last and the projecting margin of the sole and then advancing the wipers, and means operated by the advancing movement of the wipers for releasing the toe gripper.

19. A stitchdown lasting machine having, in combination, a support to receive the sole of a stitchdown shoe assembled with an upper upon a last and adapted to support the marginal portion of the sole which projects beyond the bottom of the last, toe and side grippers mounted upon pivots beneath the support for downward. and out ward movement with respect to the last, a spring for holding each gripper with its jaw above the support, means acting through a stronger spring for closing each gripper upon the upper and for moving it to tension the upper, and means for increasing the tension of the stronger spring of the toe gripper when that gripper is in initial position, said means being releasable at the will of the operator to cause closing and pulling movement of the toe gripper prior to operation of the side grippers.

FRED RICKS.

CYRIL HARRY JAMES. 

